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Races
There are many races throughout the world of Delpho. Some of them are prone to adventure, while others are not so well equipped for the requirements. From the Player's Handbook: Humans (PHB 3.5, p12) Most humans are the descendants of pioneers, conquerors, traders, travelers, refugees, and other people on the move. As a result, human lands are home to a mix of people - physically, culturally, religiously, and politically different. Hardy or fine, light-skinned or dark, showy or austere, primitive or civilized, devout or impious, humans run the gamut. Dwarves (PHB, p14) Dwarves are known for their skill in warfare, their ability to withstand physical and magical punishment, their knowledge of the earth's secrets, their hard work, and their capacity for drinking ale. Their mysterious kingdoms, carved out from the insides of mountains, are renowned for the marvelous treasures that they produce as gifts or for trade. Elves (PHB, p15) Elves mingle freely in human lands, always welcome yet never at home there. They are well known for their poetry, dance, song, lore, and magical arts. Elves favor things of natural and simple beauty. When danger threatens their woodland homes, however, elves reveal a more martial side, demonstrating skill with sword, bow, and battle strategy. Gnomes (PHB, p16) Gnomes are welcome everywhere as technicians, alchemists, and inventors. Despite the demand for their skills, most gnomes prefer to remain among their own kind, living in comfortable burrows beneath the rolling, wooded hills where animals abound. Half-Elves (PHB, p18) Humans and evles sometimes wed, the elf attracted to the human's energy and the human to the elf's grace. These marriages end quickly as elves count years because a human's life is so brief, but they leave an enduring legacy - half-elf children. The life of a half-elf can be hard. If raised by elves, the half-elf seems to grow with astounding speed, reaching maturity within two decades. The half-elf becomes an adult long before she has had time to learn the intricacies of elven art and culture, or even grammar. She leaves behind her childhood friends, becoming physically an adult but culturally still a child by elven standards. Typically, she leaves her elven home, which is no longer familiar, and finds her way among humans. If, on the other hand, she is raised by humans, the half-elf finds herself different from her peers: more aloof, more sensitive, less ambitious, and slower to mature. Some half-elves try to fit in among humans, while others find their identities in the difference. Most find places for themselves in human lands, but some feel like outsiders all their lives. Half-Orcs (PHB, p18) In the wild frontiers, tribes of human and orc barbarians live in uneasy balance, fighting in times of war and trading in times of peace. Half-orcs who are born in the frontier may live with either human or orc parents, but they are nevertheless exposed to both cultures. Some, for whatever reason, leave their homeland and travel to civilized lands, bringing with them the tenacity, courage, and combat prowess that they developed in the wilds. Halflings (PHB, p19) Halflings are clever, capable opportunists. Halfling individuals and clans find room for themselves wherever they can. Often they are strangers and wanderers, and others react to them with suspicion or curiosity. Depending on the clan, halflings might be reliable, hard-working (if clannish) citizens, or they might be thieves just waiting for the opportunity to make a big score and disappear in the dead of night. Regardless, halflings are cunning, resourceful survivors. From Stormwrack: Aventi (Stormwrack, p34) Citizens of an ancient empire that sank beneath the ocean, the aventi adapted to their new home and now adventure both at sea and on land. A proud people who hold personal honor in high regard, the aventi can be found anywhere from the human-settled coasts to the deepest trenches of the ocean floor. Aventi are little different from humans in appearance. Aventi usually stand from 5 feet to a little over 6 feet in height and weigh from 125 to 250 pounds, with men noticeably taller and heavier than women. Aventi coloration tends toward very pale, almost bluish skin to a lighter tan, with blue and green eyes and hair that ranges between a light brown and a very pale blonde. The calves and forearms of aventi feature small swimming fins that fold almost flat when the aventi leaves the water. Aventi dress is very plain and sparse - most wear just enough to maintain their modesty, and some wear less than that. They are fond of pearls and soft metals that can be worked without heat, such as gold. Aventi, like humans, reach adulthood at about age 15 and rarely live more than a century. Darfellan (Stormwrack, p37) The darfellans were once a peaceful race of hunter-gatherers who lived among the surf and sea stacks of forbidding coastlines. Then the sahuagin discovered them, beginning a century-long struggle that almost ended in the extinction of the darfellan race. The remaining darfellans are brooding wanderers who crave the chance to exact a final measure of vengeance against the sahuagin who wiped out their kin. A typical darfellan has a hulking, muscular build with a broad back, powerful arms, and a wide neck and head. A darfellan stands not much over 6 feet tall and weighs nearly 200 pounds. A darfellan's most striking feature is his or her jet-black skin, glossy and hairless, broken by varied white markings. The size, shape, and location of the white areas distinguish family groups and quickly identify an individual's heritage to other darfellans and those who know how to read darfellan markings. Occasionally individuals are born who are entirely black or, much more rarely, wholly white. Such births are always seen as portentous, and the children are destined to hold positions of importance among the people - whether they are so inclined or not. The appearance of an entirely white darfellan is taken as a sign of great events, and the people's history is filled with stories of the upheavals that followed such births. Elf, Aquatic (Stormwrack, p39) Although surface elves are renowned as daring and skillful seafarers above the waves, the greatest legacy of elves and sea lies below the surface of the ocean. The nations of the aquatic elves are as ancient and powerful as those of their land-dwelling cousins. The children of the Deep Sashelas, aquatic elves dwell in the shallower parts of the ocean, usually within a few miles of the coast, for the deeper parts of the sea tend to be not only too cold and lightless for their taste, but also home to their blood enemies, the sahuagin. Hadozee (Stormwrack, p41) A race of simianlike humanoids, hadozee are often referred to as "winged deck apes". It's easy to see where they would come by such a moniker: they are covered in light brown fur, with a slightly stooped posture, a shaggy mane, and a fanged muzzle. And they have flaps of skin that hang beneath their arms that enable gliding, if not true flight. Because they're also good climbers and balancers, hadozee are particularly suited for life aboard a ship sailing the seas of adventure. Category:Character Generation